Power system



May 28, 19 9- c. L.-HE|SLER 1. 14.908 v POWER SYSTEM Filed June 8, 1 L927 3 Sheets-Sheet l Invenbor Charles L. Heishr H36 A'Hzow ney.

C. L. HEISLER POWER SYSTEM May 28, 1929.

May 28, 1929. c. L. HEISLER 1,714,908

o airs mite HQE- CHARLES L. HEISLER, 0F SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELEG TRIS COMPANY, A CORPORATION" OF NEW YORK.

IOWER SYSTEM.

My invention relates to power systems and more particularly to electrical ship propulsion systems utilizing a mechanical transmission through connecting rods to drive a pro peller.

My invention is especially applicable to river boats of the stern Wheel type wherein power is transmitted to the paddle wheel through cranks and connecting rods, although in its broader aspects, as will appear hereinafter, my invention is of more general application. 7 Y

In river boats of the type referred to above, there are two well known arrangements of the connecting rods known as the drive and the cross link drive. 7

In the parallel drive the connecting rods lie parallel to each other at all times. In such an arrangement when two driving cranks are displaced relative to each other 90 and independently driven by a continuous torque device such as an electric motor, difiiculty is often encountered due to the driving cranks bucking. or opposing each other. This difficulty is due to the lost motion developed in the cranks and connecting rods allowing a driving crank to advance beyond its dead center position before the driven crank with, which it is connected has arrived ZillltS dead center position. lVhen this occurs, the driving crank that has passed beyond its dead center position operates through its connect ing rod in a manner to reverse the direction of rotation of the driven crank, which has not yet passed its dead center position and it in turn, acting through the other driven crank with which it is connected through the agency of the paddle wheel and the connecting rod of the other driven crank, acts to oppose the other driving crank. It has already been proposed to eliminate this difficulty by mechanically connecting the driving cranks, as for example, by means of a jack shaft. But even with this connection a further obstacle is encountered in this type of drive in the difficulty of maintaining fairly close bearing clearances so as to permit an even transfer necting rods when the cranks approach their dead center positions.

One object of my invention is to eliminate parallel difficulties that occur when the driving cranks are independently driven aswell as when the drlvlng cranks are'mechanically connected together. i

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention I provide a compen'' sated connecting rod comprising a cylinder and a piston inserted in and forming apart of a connecting rod, the parts being so arranged that when the crank to which the rod is attached is driving through its favorable I angle a fluid pressure is maintained between the piston and the cylinder for transmitting power or driving to'rque,but when the crank reaches an unfavorable angle near deadcenter position, the fluid pressure is removed by means of a balanced piston valve'connected through suitable linkage to the crank or some other suitable structure and the rod is allowed to float freely until it reaches asimilar favor-. able position on'the opposite side of dead center. This operates at thev same time most favorably in the matter of crank pin pressures and connecting rod stresses, for by transferring from half load on each rod and crank to full load' on onerod and crank at its most' favorable angle, the maximum stresses occurring in the system may be kept to a minimum when considered over an entire revolution.

In the cross link or cross rod drive my compensated connecting rod not only permits the interruption of the driving connection at or near dead center but fulfills still an time overcoming the limitations imposed by the perm ssible length of afsingle connecting rod. In the cross link scheme, a suitable support for the long connecting rod is provided at or near its middle as for example by means of an oscillating cross head. One very important additional limitation, however, is introduced with this scheme by reason of the fact that the driving and driven cranks have different angular velocities due to the angularity of the cross links or connectingrods. It is not therefore possible to cross-connect the rods without taking account of this difference in angularvelocity. The, additional purpose served by my compensating connect-' ing rod in the cross link drive in addition to relieving the situation at and near dead center as outlined above is to transfer load from one crank that is approaching dead center and when it is at or'near the position to another crank that is approaching its most favorable angle and when it is 45 there-. from. In each case the angles referred to are with reference to the driven cranks. Inother words, this means that each set of cran rs and rods are workin only through half a revolution split up intotwo 90 portions and the fluid transmission is used to transfer the load fronione set of cranks to the other set at a definitely predetermined point. The overlap or period during which both driving cranks are supplying power will be made small so that the difference in the rates of change of the angular velocity will be so small as to be negligible. It may be here noted that with this latter scheme it .will not be possible to transfer the load from one set of cranks and rods to the other set of cranks and rods at the most favorable angle with regard to connecting rod stresses and crank pin pressures due to the necessity of having very little overlap durin g which both sets are working and hence the stresses can not be reduced as in the parallel connecting rod drive.

My invention will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, and itsscope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referringto the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a side elevation partly in section of the stern 7 of a paddle-wheel boat equipped with a cross link drive wherein my compensating connecting rods are used, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a side vie-w partly in section of the stern of a paddle wheel boat equipped with a parallel. connecting rod drive wherein my compensating connecting rods are used. Fig.4 is a side view partly in section of the operating parts or regulator of my compensating connecting rod. Fig. 5 is an end view of the cross head tie plate of Fig.

. 4; Fig. 6 is a section alonglines AA of Fig.

4; Fig. 7 is a section along lines BB of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a section along lines C-C of Fig. 4; Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the right hand end of the balanced piston valve of Fig. 4 showing the check valve located therein; and

Fig. 10 is a section along lines :D-D of F ig 4; Fig. 11 shows the compensating or regulating means of Fig. 4 provided with a relief valve mechanism, and Fig. 12 is a section of Fig. 11 along lines EE.

In Fi 1 andv 2, boat 1 is shown as provided with a paddle wheel 2 which is me-- chanically connected with driving'motors 3 and 4 by connecting rods 5, 6, 7 and 8. The wheel 2 is supported between the usual rear extension members 9 that are adapted to retatably support the paddle wheel, which is provided with cranks 10 and 11. Motor 3 is gear-connected by pinion 12 and gear wheel 13 to crank 14, which is connected to the connecting rod 5. This connecting rod is provided at one end with compensating orregulating means according to the present invention indicated at 14 and is connected at its oppositeend toa cross-head 15 supported between slide members 16 suitably supported by the boat. Connecting rod 6 is connected to this same cross-head at one end and at its other end to crank 10 on the paddle wheel. In like manner motor 4 is connected to Wheel 2 through a pinion, not shown, gear wheel 18, crank 19, connecting rod 6 provided with a compensating or regulating means 20, crosshead 21 supported between parallel ways 22, connecting rod 8 and crank 11. The gear wheels 13 and 18'and cranks 14 and 19 are mechanically connected by a jack shaft 28. This enables each motor to contribute its share of power for propelling the-boat at all times for as was noted above in the cross link type of drive embodying my compensating connecting rod, the driving force is transmitted. first by one set of connecting rods and then by another set of connecting rods. Instead of using two motors as illustrated, one large motor may be used and connected directly, or through the agency. of gearing 'to the jack shaft upon which the driving cranks are mounted. In general it will be preferable to use a plurality of smaller motors for they can be located in the boat to better advantage. Furthermore if for any reason one motor fails it may be cut out and the remaining motor or motors used to propel the boat, thus insuring continuity of operation. The jack shaft 23 may be located lower in the boat than has been illustrated by having it extend directly between the motors, or some other suitable arrangement may be used, so that no barrier isinterposed between the fore and aft parts of the boat and a clear deck space is provided for the disposition of cargo. I

In F ig. 3 my compensating connecting rods are shown as applied in the usual parallel link drive. In this figure the paddle wheel 2 is connected by connecting rods 24 and 25 provided with eomp'ensatorsorregulators 26 and 27 to gear wheels 13 and 18 which are connected to motors 3'and 4 as in Figs. 1 and 2. In this arrangement, the cranks 14 and 19 may or may not be connected mechanically as in Figs. 1 and 2. This is made possible, it will be remembered, by the fact that according to the prei nt arrangement the connecting rods 24 and 25 are made free and transmit no driving force to the cranks 1O andll of the paddle wheel at or near dead center and consequently there is no tendency for the driving cranks to buck or oppose one'another.

The operative parts of my compensating connecting rod shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are illustrated in greater detail in' Fig. 4. In this figure; only the left'hand portion of a connecting rod is shown, which portion is provided wit-h the compensating or regulating mechanism. It is of course apparent that it is possible to have the compensating mechanism at either end of a connecting rod or at connecting rod shown, the actuating force of the driving crank is transmitted through the compensated rod from pin 28 to the main portion of the connecting rod 29 by means of a piston rod 30, a piston .31, a fluid medium, such as oil enclosed in a cylinder 32, which fluid medium isnot shown for the purpose of clearness of illustration, and the cylinder 32. The flow of the'fluid medium from one side of the piston to the other side of the piston is controlled by a valve 33 which is operated through a valve rod 34, angle lever 35 and lever 36 by a crank pin 37 attached to and located on one side of the center of the crank pin 28. A supporting member 38 is provided for eliminating excess bending strains on the cylinder 32.

The crank pin 28 is located between bearing blocks 39 and 40 within a crank pin box I 41 which in turn is located in the left hand end of the supportingm'ember 38. This end portion of the supporting member 38 is bored to circular form to accommodate the cylindrical bearing surface of the crank pin box 41. By this arrangement the rod is free to turn relatively to the crank pin so as to compensate for any distortion in the connecting rod that may occur when the boat is subjected to warping stresses. 7 7

As best shown in Fig. 10, a wedge 42 whose position is adjusted by a screw 43 and a lock nut 44 is provided for taking up any excessive bearing clearance that may occur due to the wearing away of the contact surfaces of bearing blocks 39 and 40 and crank pin 28. The ends of the bearing box chamber in member 38 are secured together by a tie plate 45 which is provided with flanges that interlock with corresponding grooves in member 38. This tie plate 45 is secured in place by bolts 46. The tie plate may be removed by withdrawing the bolts 46 and turning the plate about its axisthrough the agency of a wrench inserted in hole 47 until the flanges on the plate are free of the grooves in member 38.

The crank pin box 41 isscrew-connected with the piston rod 30 andheld in adjusted position by a nut 48. This piston rod extends through the cylinder 32 at 49 and has mounted upon it the piston 31. The piston rod extends through the cylinder 32 at'50 into an opening 51 in the connecting rod 29. Where the piston rod extendsthrough the cylinder walls at 49 and appropriate packings are provided and the piston 31 is likewise provided with packings to insure a close engagementbetween it and the inner walls of the. cylinder 32. The piston rod 30 is extended through the cylinder 32 to. eliminate the effect of diiferential pressures and to equalize the volume of fluid thatmust be applied to each side of the piston to move it a predetermined amount. This arrangement will eliminate the necessity for providing a large reservoir to take up the excess fluid that would otherwise have to be taken careof'if the piston did not extend through the cylinder and the piston weremoved to the right.

The cylinder32 is secured tothe connected rod 29 by straps 52 which are bolted and keyed to the external walls of the cylinder 32 and-bolted to the rod29. As illustrated in Fig. 4,- the member 38 is bolted to the left end portion of cylinder 32 andgforms a continuation of the rod that acts in a manner to relieve bendingstresses on cylinder 32.

The flow offluid'from oneside-of piston 31 to the other side thereof is controlled by valve 33. This valve is a balanced valve and arranged to uncover both ports 53 and; 54 of cylinder 32 or one or theother of these ports during its .operating cycle. This, valve is bored longitudinallyas at 55 to permit the passage of fluid from one end of the valve cylinder 56 to the other end thereof when the valve is operating. At the right hand portion of the valve cylinder-56 and forming a continuation thereof there is a reservoir 57 within which is included a supply of fluid for making up any fluid that may be lost during the operation of the regulator. Within this reservoir 57 there is a piston 58 which is mounted on a piston rod 59and forced to the left by a spring 60 in a manner to impose a pressure upon the fluid and move the piston 58 to the left totake up for any fluid supplied from the reservoir 57 to the regulator. This fluid is supplied to the cylinder of'the regulator through the passageways 55 and 61 in a the right hand end of valve'33, through a valve 62,'and a passageway 63 which is in communication with the cylinder 32 through its ports 53 and 54. The reservoir 57 may be charged with fluid supplied through an open-p ing in the reservoir cylinder 57 that is normally closed by a plug 64. e F I Valve 33 is provided with packing rings at 65 and 66 and is supported within a liner 67 located within the valve cylinder 56. This liner 67 is provided'with,openings 68,correspond ng with theports 53 and 54 of cylinder 32 which permit the passage of fluid within the Cylinder 32 through these ports and openings and about valve 33 from'one side to the other of piston 31. The valve 33 isconnected by a rod 34 passing through a packing at 69 to a crosshead 7 O mounted within parallel ways'71 in a supporting member 72 located upon and bolted to member 38. One end of angle lever 35 is attached to a vertically movableblock located withincross-head 7 O. The angle lever itselfis supported by a pivot member 73 attached to support 72'and the other end of the lever is connected to link 36 which in turn is connected to the crank pin 37 supported on a member 7 4; which is bolted to the crank pin 28.

In Fig. 11 the regulating means illustrated in Fig. '4 is shown as provided with a bypass relief valve 75. This relief valve is bolted to the bosses 7 6 and 77 on the upper part of.

between the openings in this valve and the ports 53 and 54: of the cylinder 32. This by pass relief valve comprises two'valve members and 81 normally forced against seats 32 and 83 in the valve casing by springs 84 and 85. These valves may be removed from the casing together with their spring members by removing plugs 86 and 87. The valve members 80 and 81 are reversed rela tive to each other and control the passage of liquid from ports 53 and M'through the 0penings 78 and 79. If for any reason an eXces sive pressure isbuilt upon one side or the other of the piston 31 this excessive pressure is relieved by this bypass relief valve and in this mannerfracture of the connecting rod is prevented if for any reason the regulator fails to act or is damaged. It is apparent that under some conditions this bypass relief valve may be substituted in place of the regulating valve 33 in a compensated connecting rod such as has been described above.

The'combination of such a valve with a compensated connecting rod or in combina tionwitlr a connecting rod provided with the regulator of the present invention is the invention of R. A. Beekman whose application Serial No. 197 $93 for power systems is filed concurrently herewithandassigned to the same assignee as the present application.

I will describe the operation of my compensating connecting rod in connection with the parallel link or connecting rod drive illustrated in Fig. 2 from which it will be clear how the same operates in the cross-head drive illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 3, I will assume that the boat is being propelled in a forward direction. This will require the wheel 2 to be turned in a counter-clockwise direction and consequently the cranks must likewise turn in acounter-clockwise direction.' The position of the parts ofthe regulator shown in Fig. 4 of the compensating connecting rod will be taken as correspondingto the forward dead center position ofthe crank. hen in the usual arrangements the connecting rod is at or near this position; as has been before noted, one crank may buck or oppose the other and a disagreeable and destructive shock will occur when the connecting rod changes over from exerting a pulling force to exerting a pushing force. Both of these conditions arise as a result of the inevitable wear of the moving parts which results in eX- cessive bearing clearances. lVhen the rod of my invention is on its forward dead center as illustrated in Fig. e, it'will be noted that the connecting rod is disabled as a power transmitting means, since it is impossible to build up a resisting fluid pressure between the piston 31 and the walls of cylinder 32 due to the fact that both of the ports 53 and 54. are uncovered by the valve 33, thus permitting a free exchange of fluid from one side of the piston to the other side thereof. When however the crank has moved from its forward dead center in a counter-clockwise direction a predetermined number of degrees, say ten or fifteen degrees, the valve 33 will be moved to the left a sufiicient amount to cover the port 54 and prevents the fluid enclosed between the piston 31 and the right hand portion of the cylinder 32 from escaping. This fluid will thus be subjected to the thrusting pressure of the piston 31 and willtransmit this pressure to the main por-- tion of the connecting rod 29. This condition will continue until the crank approaches its aft dead center by which time the valve will have again moved to the position illustrated in Fig. 4, when again the connecting rod will be unloaded and incapable of transmitting power to the driven element. As soon as the crank has passed beyond this aft dead center a predetermined amount, the valve 33 will close port 53 and this will enable a pressure to be built up in the left hand portion of the cylinder 33 and the connecting rod will again become a power transmitting member.

As has been pointed out in connection with the cross link type of drive illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it is desirable to relieve the pressure in the cylinder of the connecting rod (luring about half of the operating, cycle. That is, in the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each set of cranks and rods are arranged to work only through about half a revolution split up into approximately portions and the regulator is used to transfer the load from one set of cranksand rods at a definitely predetermined point with the minimum of overlap or period during which both sets of cranks and rods are operating commensurate with satisfactory operation. To secure this operation, the regulator of one of my con'lpensating connector rods in one set of cranks and rods operates so as to cover one or the other of the ports 53 and 54 while a regulator of one of my compensating rods in the other set of cranks and rods is moved to a position to uncover bot-h ports 53 and 54C and this operation occurs at or near the position of the driven cranks.

It will be apparentthat a regulator whose parts are so related that it operates satisfactorily according to the above description with reference to the'cross link drive of Figs. 1 and 2 will also operate satisfactorily in the parallel connecting rod arrangement of Fig.

3. However, in the arrangement of Fig. 3- 1t may be considered desirable to work over greater portion of the cycle and to satisfy this condition the proportions of the valve 33,the

relative length of the arms of angle lever 35 or the throw of crank 37 would have to be changed to secure this result. It is apparent that an arrangement might be readily provi ded to accomplish these adjustments. However since the connecting rod is designed and usually used for a given set of conditions these adjustments are ordinarily unnecessary and I have shown the regulator of my compensating connecting rod without these adjustable features. I

I have explained my invention by illustrating and describing certain specific embodiments thereof but it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the arrangements of these embodiments may be modified in certain of their details. I accordingly do not wish to-be restricted to the particular arrangements disclosed herein by way of illustration for the purpose of setting forth my invention in accordance with the patent statutes. The terms of the appended claims are therefore intended to cover all changes and modifications within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and .desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination with a crank and a oonnecting rod, means allowing relative movement between the ends of said rod for disabling said rod as a power transmitting member when the crank is passingv through a predetermined angle of movement.

2. In combination with a crank and a connecting rod, regulating means within said rod comprising a cylinder, a piston within said cylinder, and means for permitting a flow of fluid from one side of said piston to the other side thereof at predetermined angular positions of said crank for disabling said rod as a power transmitting member.

3. In a power transmission system, aplurality of driving cranks, a plurality of interconnected driven cranks, connecting rods extending between said driving and said driven cranks, and means within said connecting rods for disabling them as power transmitting disabling it as a power'transmitting member,

and means for actuating said last mentioned means in each rod when its driving crank appreaches its dead center positions.

5. In a power system, continuous torque motor means, a plurality of driving cranks connected to said motor means, connecting rods attached to said cranks and driven thereby, and means within said rods for individual ly interrupting their driving connection with their respective cranks when these cranks pass through predetermined arcs of theirmovement.

6. In a boat of the stern wheel type, continuous torque driving-means, means comprising connecting rods, for driving said stern wheel from saiddriving means and means within said rods for disabling them as power transmitting members during predetermined portions of their operating cycles.

-7. In a ship propulsion system, a plurality of interconnected driving cranks, a plurality of interconnected driven cranks, connecting rods extending between said driving cranks and said driven cranks, and means within each connecting rod responsive toithe angu:

lar position of oneof its connected cranks for transferring the load from one of said driving cranks to anotherof said driving cranks at predetermined angular positions of said cranks. v r 1 8. In a ship propulsion system wherein a propelling member is operated by .two connecting rods crossed relatively to'each. other, means within each rod for disabling it as a power transmitting means, and means operated when the connecting rods are in predetermined relative positions for transferring the load from one of said rods to another of said rods after a period of overlap during which both rods are operating to drive the propelling member.

9. In a ship propulsion system, an electric motor, apaddle wheel, transmission means between said motor and said paddle wheel comprising a connecting rod and means within said rod for disabling it as a power transmit ting member during a predetermined portion of its operating cycle.

10. A through a given operating cycle comprising two relatively movable interconnected members and means acting during predetermined parts of said cycle for preventing relative movement of said members.

connecting rod arranged to move said parts and means attached to said cylinder and extending along the part of said rod attached to said piston and supporting said part at a point remotely situated from the cylinder for eliminating excess bending strains on the said cylinder when the rod is subjected to bending stresses.

13; A connecting rod divided into two parts, a regulator interposed between said parts, said regulator comprlslng a cylinder attached to one of said parts and a piston within said cylinder attached to the other of said parts, a crank pin boxhaving a cylindrical outside bearing surface extending in the direction of the axis of said rod connected to the part of said rod attached to said piston, and means having an internal cylindrical bearing surface for said crank pin box attached to said cylinder and extending along the part of said rod attached to said piston.

14:. In a ship propulsion system, power transmission means comprising a connecting rod, a crank pin, and means interposed be tween said crank pin and said rod arranged to permit free turning of the rod about its longitudinal axis to compensate for any distortion in the connecting rod that may occur when the ship is subjected to warping stresses.

15. In combination with a crank and a connecting rod, fluid transmission means in said rod comprising a piston and a cylinder, ports communicating with the cylinder on opposite sides of said piston, a valve for controlling one side of said said balanced valve responsive to crank position for controlling the flow of fluid i'rom piston to the otherside thereof. V

17. A connecting rod arranged to move through a given operating cycle having members arranged to be rigidly or yieldingly interconnected through the agency of a fluid transmission comprising a cylinder and a piston enclosed in said cylinder, said cylinder having ports at opposite sides of said piston, a valve for controlling the flow of fluid through said ports and a link system, one terminal of which is connected to the valve and another terminal member of Which is adapted to be operated by movement ofthei rod through its operating cycleior controlling through said valve the flow of fluid from one side of said piston to the other side thereof, thereby rendering said interconnection rigid or yielding when the rod is traveling through predetermined portions of its operating cycle. I

18. In combination with a connecting rod having members arranged to be rigidlyor yieldingly interconnected through the agency of a fluid transmission comprising a-cylinder, a reservoir chamber connected with said cyl inder having means for forcing fluid from said reservoir into said cylinder.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of June, 1927.

' CHARLES L. HEISLER. 

